USA– Siemens Healthineers AG and General Electric Co.’s healthcare arm are among the companies looking into acquiring two businesses spun off by medical device maker Medtronic Plc, Bloomberg citing people familiar with the situation.
Private equity firms are also interested in Medtronic’s patient-monitoring and respiratory-intervention businesses, according to people who asked not to be identified because they were discussing confidential information.
Medtronic, the world’s largest standalone medical device maker, announced plans in October to spin off the two units – patient monitoring and respiratory interventions – within the next year to 18 months as it seeks to streamline its portfolio.
Bloomberg reported that Medtronic was also open to a sale at the right price and the businesses could be valued at more than US$7 billion.
Medtronic has been restructuring its business over the last few years in a bid to increase the pace of its revenue growth.
GE Healthcare on its part is looking to explore acquisitions ahead of its January spinoff and has named a new board for the planned independent company.
In November last year, the conglomerate outlined a plan to split into three publicly traded companies focused on energy, healthcare, and aviation to simplify its business and pare down debt.
GE Healthcare has remained relatively stable and focused on growth in recent years, despite GE struggling to stay afloat and selling many of its assets.
The healthcare division alone accounted for US$18 billion of the company’s total global revenue of nearly US$80 billion in 2020. These profits were primarily driven by sales of respiratory devices as well as imaging and ultrasound machines.
GE Healthcare has continued to devote the majority of its resources to these areas. In September, for example, it spent nearly US$1.5 billion on BK Medical, a company that develops imaging support technology for use in operating rooms.
Previously, in May, the company acquired France’s Zionexa and its molecular imaging agent, which was recently approved by the FDA to assist in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
These acquisitions complement GE’s in-house efforts to expand its imaging portfolio. It began rolling out a new wireless ultrasound device small enough to fit in a clinician’s pocket earlier this year, followed by another point-of-care ultrasound powered by artificial intelligence and specifically designed for use in COVID-19 wards.
Similarly, Siemens Healthineers has made 3 acquisitions and 2 investments. The company has spent over US$17.50B on acquisitions, the latest being Varian Medical Systems.
The Germany-based med tech giant has also invested in multiple sectors such as oncology, healthcare IT, professional service robots, and more.
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